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“God Is the Ultimate Giver”

Bible Passage: John 3:16

MEMORY VERSE

2 Corinthians 9:11

What you’ll need: Bible

Verse and sun image slides

Thank you cards

Worship songs

Teacher Tip: This week’s lesson is all about communicating the generosity of God and

how He is our example of generosity. God is generous and we want to be more like

Him, therefore we must be generous too. It’s a simple message with profound

implications. Be sure to spend some time in prayer as you prepare to teach this lesson.

Perhaps God is calling you to be more generous as well. Read over John 3:16 and

meditate on the full depth of God’s selfless sacrifice to redeem us. It’s amazing! Pray

that the Holy Spirit will speak through you as you teach this lesson and that He’ll inspire

the hearts and minds of your kids to become more like God, to become more generous!

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Large Group: Teacher Tip: Open large group time by welcoming the kids. Large group should be a

time of both fun and learning. As the teacher, you set the tone for the whole

experience. Be sure to exude excitement as you open the large group time.

Say: “Let’s review our Memory Verse!” (verse on screen) “Let’s say it together…”

MEMORY VERSE: “You will be made rich in every way so

that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us

your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”

2 Corinthians 9:11

“BREAK THE ICE”

Teacher Tip: “Break the Ice” is a great way to build community among your kids.

Encourage them to find three or four other kids and ask them the following question.

Once a few minutes have passed, and if time permits, spend a few moments dialoguing

with the group about their answers.

“Break the Ice” Question

What is the coolest gift you’ve ever been given?

Worship Song: “Giving God” () (Tech cue worship video)

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Large Group Lesson: “God Is the Ultimate Giver”

Teacher’s Tip: Set up the verse and sun image slides and have your Bible handy

Today we’re going to talk about how God is a giving God. Let’s look at John 3:16

together:

() (on the screen) “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only

Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

What does this verse say about God? It says that He loved the world so much

that He did what? (allow children to answer) That’s right! He gave! God showed

His generosity to us by giving us His Son, Jesus Christ. What does “generosity”

mean? (allow children to answer). Those are great answers! Generosity means to

“unselfishly give up something we value because we love others.” God loves us so

much! Do you think it was easy for God to send Jesus to earth, knowing that He

would eventually be crucified on the cross? No!

By sending Jesus to us to be our Savior, God proved His love for us.

Did you know that God exists in three persons? God the Father, God the Son and

God the Holy Spirit. We call that the Trinity; it can be challenging to understand

how one God can exist in three persons. But because He is God, anything is

possible! Think about it this way.

We’ve all seen the sun right?

() (show picture of the sun on the screen)

The sun is a giant mass of gas, hot plasma and fire in outer space. All the

planets in our solar system orbit around the sun. The sun provides light to the

earth, so that life can exist on our planet. The sun also provides heat to the earth,

to keep us warm. In a similar way, God the Father, who created the whole

universe, resides in Heaven. Jesus is like the light of the world, so that we can

have eternal life. And the Holy Spirit might be compared to the heat of the sun, it

reminds us of the presence of God here on earth. God the Father, God the Son and

God the Spirit are all part of the God we worship.

God the Father showed His generosity by sending His Son, Jesus. How did Jesus

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display God’s generosity? (allow kids to answer) Jesus was an amazing gift to us!

Why did God send Jesus again? Right! Because He loves us and he wants us to

spend eternity with Him. John 3:16 tells us that Jesus was sent so that “whoever

believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

How did Jesus, God the Son, show generosity? (allow kids to answer) That’s right!

He gave up His own life to be our Savior! Wow! What an amazing display of

generosity; to lay down your own life. Jesus could have said, “No way, I don’t

want to die for the sins of man!” But instead He told God that if it was His will, He

would go to the cross to become our Savior.

Okay, we’ve talked about God the Father and Jesus, God’s Son. What’s the third

part of the Trinity? That’s right, the Holy Spirit. How does the Holy Spirit display

God’s generosity? (allow kids to answer)

The Holy Spirit is another one of God’s amazing gifts to us! After Jesus

resurrected into Heaven, God wanted His presence to continue living on earth, so

He sent His Spirit. (on screen) In Romans 5:5, it says “God has poured out His love

into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” This verse tells us that

the Holy Spirit was given to us as an outpouring of God’s love. Not only did God

send His Son to be our Savior, but He also sent His Spirit to help us and guide us!

God’s generosity continues working through us each and every day, making us

more like Him. What a generous God we serve!

Just as God is generous, we can be generous too! But we must have God’s love

in our hearts. When we love others, we will show that love by giving to others.

And giving doesn’t just mean giving money or things away. We can give our time

to help someone in need. We can give our talents by using them to serve God.

There are so many ways that we can give! And when the love of God is in our

hearts, we’ll always be generous, just as God is generous.

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WHAT NOW?

Teacher Tip: “What Now?” is an opportunity for the kids to reflect and respond to the

teaching time. Spend as much or as little time as you need here.

As God’s children, we should always want to be more like Him. And if we want

to be more like God, we too must be generous givers! In fact, we are most like

God when we give.

Let’s take a few moments and think about the verse we read earlier, John 3:16.

(on screen)

Read the verse aloud.

For a few moments, we’re going to be silent and think about that verse. What

do you think that verse is saying? How can God’s example of generosity help us to

be more generous? (Allow an appropriate amount of time to pass before moving on.)

We’re going to respond in worship, to both thank God for His generosity to us

and to ask Him to help us to be more generous. You’ll notice “Thank You” cards

on the table. Take one of the “Thank You” cards and write a prayer of

thanksgiving on it, telling God how grateful you are for His generosity in your life

and in sending His Son to be our Savior. Take the cards with you as a reminder of

your prayers this week.

After the kids are finished, close the Large Group time.

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THANK YOU CARDS (Cut out the card and fold along the dotted line with the printed side as the front of the card.)

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Small Group Lesson

MEMORY VERSE

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and

through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

2 Corinthians 9:11

“God is the Ultimate Giver”

Schedule

Prepare – Small Group 15 minutes

Large Group 40 minutes

Feedback & Hands On – Small Group 15-20 minutes

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Lesson: John 3:16

What? How long? Supplies/Prepare

Small Group:

BEFORE Prepare

Check-In

15 min. “Define”

Large Paper

Markers/pens/crayons

Large Group

25–35 min. Memory Verse

“Break the Ice” Question

Lesson

Today during teaching the kids will hear how God set the

example of giving by sending his son, Jesus

Bible

What Now? Large Group

10-15 min. “Help Me” and “Thank You” cards

paper, pens or markers

Small Group:

AFTER Feedback

Hands On

15–20 min. Feedback: God Wants us to Give Unselfishly

questions

Hands On: Giving Squares

Giving Square sheet (one per child)

Markers/crayons/pens etc.

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SMALL GROUP: BEFORE

Prepare

Leader Tip: This is a time to get your kids ready to hear the large group teaching. Each activity

is designed to work in conjunction with the upcoming lesson. Be sure to read through the

following activity so that you’re prepared when the first child enters the room. And have fun!

“Define” Over the next four weeks we will be discussing Generosity and what it means to be generous. In “big church”

they will be doing the same. This is something that we will all be studying and going over as a whole church.

Today we will get the kids thinking about what that word means. Throughout this series we are going through

our definition of Generosity and focusing on a different aspect of the definition each week. Generosity – To

unselfishly give up something we value because we love others. Today we will focus on the “To unselfishly”

part.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

– large paper(s)

– pencils/crayons/markers, etc.

As the kids enter have them visit each of the papers on the wall and answer the questions that are at the top of

each page. (Younger children may need their parent’s or your help to read the pages). This will get the kids

thinking about what generosity is. Questions could be. What is generosity? Who is generous? When was

someone generous to you? When have you been generous? Etc.

After they have had some time to think and respond to the questions on the wall, gather your small group

together. Today we are trying to figure out what generosity is. Generosity is unselfishly giving up

something we value because we love others. Discuss for a few minutes what it means to be unselfish. Give

an example of a time when you have been unselfish or someone has been unselfish to you.

This month’s verse is: You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion,

and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:11

LARGE GROUP

Head to your large group area.

Be sure to participate in worship, prayer and large group

activities with the kids.

Small Group Leader Tip:

Be sure to sit with your small group and participate in large group with them. They look up to you and are looking to see how

you react to worship, listening and participating.

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SMALL GROUP: AFTER

Feedback…

Leader Tip: Use the following questions to spark conversation among your kids. Feel free to use

as many or as few as you have time for. Encourage the kids when they answer, allowing their

answers to remain as unprompted as possible.

God Wants Us to Give Unselfishly God set the example of giving by sending his son Jesus to earth. Jesus displayed his generosity by giving up

His life and dying for us.

Questions for Pre-K - Kindergarten • Has anyone ever given you something that you really liked?

• Do you like giving presents to other people?

• What is something nice that you have done for someone else?

• What is something nice that God has given to you?

Questions for First - Second

• What is one way that God has been generous to you?

• What impact did this have on your life?

• Describe an example from your life when you have unselfishly given something away.

• How did it make you feel to be generous?

• How do you think God feels about us being selfish?

• How do you think God feels about us being generous?

Questions for Third - Fifth

• What are some ways that God has been extravagantly generous to you?

• What impact did this have on your life?

• Describe an example from your life when you have given generously.

• What impact did this have on both you and the recipient?

• As a church, what is a way that we have been generous?

• As a church, what are some ideas that we can do to be a generous church?

• How is giving an act of worship to God in your life?

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Hands On: Giving Squares

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• Giving Square sheet (one per child)

• markers/pens, etc.

Print out the Giving Square sheet.

Pass out the Giving Square sheet and place the markers/pens in the center of your group. Today we talked

about unselfishly giving and how important it is to do so. We also learned there are many ways to give

unselfishly. Whenever we learn something it is always a good idea to figure out how we can put that

into practice. Let’s figure out ways that we can work at giving unselfishly throughout the coming week.

In each square on your paper draw out ways that you can unselfishly give this week. The last square is

left open for you to come up with your own ideas.

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GIVING SQUARES

Helping others Giving food to the hungry

Giving clothes to the poor Raking leaves for a neighbor

Giving toys to a friend